Jon Huntsman’s Poor Messaging

I’m a bit shocked by this excellent Coffee & Markets interview with Ambassador Jon Huntsman. Believe it or not, outside of his crummy campaign messaging (“I believe in science”) and the debates, this is a guy who actually sounds conservative. I have to wonder if there are two Jon Huntsmans out there — the conservative and the liberal going to different events.If nothing else, he certainly sounds to the right of Mitt Romney on a number of core issues, including healthcare and the environment. Yes, I know! The same Jon Huntsman who did the pact with Ahnuld on global warming sounds to the right of Romney.This begs a serious question — is his campaign message just that far off kilter? Because in this interview, away from sound bites and debate one liners, this guy sounds reasonably conservative. That raises another question worth asking. Is it just Rick Perry who is having disastrous debate performances? They are killing Jon Huntsman with the base. His snotty one liners and bad jokes just rub conservatives (me included) wrong. But listen to this interview and you’ve got a small government, free market guy.Where’s the disconnect? Someone might want to ask John Weaver.